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“I’m so sorry!” I blurted, the moment he was within earshot. His confusion painted across that beautiful, scruffy face, brows nearly connecting as he scowled at me. I’d been crying for two days. The day Jameson left, the first insults were flung my way. Never directly, but not quiet enough for me to miss them as the gossips not-so-subtly skirted out the shop door.
The second, the picture Alice sent us of her new apartment was overshadowed when the damn paper printed an article about thevirtuousEric Connely gracing the island in the ‘trip of a lifetime’, falling in love with the locals, and generously bestowing his plentiful resources.
By this morning, half the town was buzzing with the chatter of their very own ‘wayward son’ coercing me to abandon my ‘future husband’, plying me with booze and a scandalous love affair.
This. This is what Eric was good at. Playing people like damn fiddles until the circumstances fell in his favor. He’d been so subtle, ducking back off our radar and making his way through the town.
If he couldn’t rattle Jameson—duh, the man was a rock—he would rattle me. Rattle his family. Come after us personally, in a town too small to avoid the talk. Or the damage words could inflict on a family business. Jameson shook his head as I all but ran in his direction.
“What in the hell do you have to be sorry about?”
“Dragging you into this. Putting your family on his radar. I—”
“Havenothingto apologize for.” His words were more a demand than reassurance as he widened his stride to scoop me up against him in a heartbeat. For the first time since I’d fallen asleep in his arms, Ibreathed. Max had done his best to comfort me, but it wasn’t the same. Wasn’t this promise that I wouldn’t be alone in this. The promise of safety I found here, against Jameson, soaking up his sweaty, sea-laced scent. Dangerous feelings I wasn’t even about to address stirred in my gut. He hadn’t even made it off the dock before I saw Kenny corner him. Kenny, who hadn’t been in for his morning mocha breve since the rumor mill started churning. Kenny, who so easily fell into the trap.
“The town has seen worse scandals than an affair. I assure you, they’ll get over it,” Milo said, though his tone was solemn as Jameson lowered me onto my feet. “Might take a few months, but they’ll move on the next time one of our girls falls for a Coastie,” he grumbled. That hint of local rivalry between the Coast Guard and fishing families had been particularly entertaining, but I didn’t have time to think too deeply about it at the moment.
Jameson widened his stance to bring our faces closer, stooping to look me in the eye as his chilled hands scooped up to cradle my face. “Let’s get home. We can discuss all this somewhereidiotscan’t overhear.” He pressed a punishing kiss to my mouth, and my soul seemed to settle.
* * *
Nobodyin the family was remotely surprised that this was Eric’s strategy. In fact, it was kind of a brilliant spin if I thought about it. Back home, he’d gone after my reputation, using his family’s clout to cover up the charges. He was portraying the doting, grace-filled fiancé—oh yeah, that bit was fun. Did he propose? Yep. Did I say no? Yep. Was that what sent him flying off his hinges in the first place? Yep.—willing to take me back after mytreachery.
This was a B-grade film script, at best. The fact that people were believing any of it should have surprised me more than it did. But the rumor mill is a bizarre paradox where headlines equate to facts, and old money holds merit over authentic testimony and documented evidence.
Juniper graciously filled our bellies with hot tea and warmed up leftover mashed potatoes and roast chicken. I kinda wondered if she wasMary Poppinsin disguise, all of her doting maternal tendencies warming my heart. Suddenly, I missed my own mother, the thought short-lived as theories continued circulating the table.
“Okay, so how do we retaliate?” Maverick asked, his anger palpable as he threatened to vibrate his leg until it forcibly resigned from duty.
“Or do we retaliate at all?” Milo countered calmly. “I already texted some captains—McGrath, Brown, and Jones—and they’ll meet me at Birch Barrel. I’ll clear the air with the patriarchs in town, and the truth should circulate quickly once they take the information back to their wives. And bytruth,I mean Noel ran away and into Jameson’s arms when he offered her safety.” Right. Because Milo Rhodes wasn’t the kind of man to lie to other good men. Even for us. So, whatever this thing was between us had to be honest.
“So, we basically do damage control?” Leighton questioned. Their parents exchanged a long glance before nodding.
“It’s a small town. Word will get around, and if the two of you are in this together, they’ll sense that, too.” Juniper added. Just like that, my nerves lessened. Jameson had been eerily level-headed as his siblings batted ideas and irritation around in equal measure, his fingers firmly intertwined in mine as he seemed to chew over their words. The lethal edge to his gaze as it drilled into the table, however, was enough to set my anxiety on alert. He’d already been mad, but watching our names get dragged through the mud might just be enough to push him right over the edge and take shit into his own hands. As we walked out of the main house, I couldn’t help but wonder, could a good local family name override a nationally respected one?
We made the car ride home in silence, both of us deep in our own heads. I should’ve seen this play coming, but I’d let them all get blindsided by it. I needed to talk to Brex, or maybe Josie.Mmm, definitely Josie, as she was less likely to panic and more likely to stay level when I needed her to. Something about that single mom life keeping her feet firmly planted in the face of stress. However, Vallie absolutely needed to be brought into the fold. But that could wait—had to wait, as she was likely in bed at this time of evening.
In true Jameson fashion, he rushed around the truck to open my door and help me down, pressing a soft kiss to my forehead when I found my feet. Leading the way up and into the house with a pinched spot between his brows, he remained chillingly silent, and I wasn’t sure if he was mad or in his head, my stomach winding tighter all the while.
One arm crossed under the other, literally bracing his chin in some deep trance of contemplation, he wandered into the house, kicking off his boots without relaxing his face. He was still in his dirty boat clothes, having taken me to consult the calvary the moment he made it home. As that full bottom lip vanished between his teeth, my trepidation won out.
“James?” I asked softly. His face relaxed a bit for the first time as his gaze found mine. I swallowed hard, shifting my weight from one side to the other. “I really am sorry.”
Anger or hurt, or some blended braid of the two flashed in his eyes. But before I could continue, he closed the distance, scooping my face into his palms and threading thick fingers into my hair. It was second nature, the way he tilted me up to him, his lips claiming mine. It differed from that first night on the mountain. These kisses were consuming, like he was siphoning off a bit of himself to infuse his strength into me in exchange for a piece of mine. Like the rainstorm of Jameson Rhodes was wrapping me up, concealing me, hiding me away from the world in his shadows as I offered him just a taste of Florida sun. I reveled in it. The man's silent intensity somehow made me feel safe as the heat of desire stirred to life and crawled through my veins.
Hips grinding into mine, Jameson pulled back, keeping our foreheads connected as we shared a breath. “Please.”
“Please?” I questioned, blinking as I panted against him. He shook his head infinitesimally. The movement was so small I would have missed it if he hadn’t bowed against my forehead.
“Please stop doing that. Please stop apologizing.”
“But I’m—”
“Taking ownership of a grown man’s actions. You didn’tmake himcome here. Didn’t invite him or make him play the rumor mill like a teenage girl. You being here doesn’t justify his mental games. You have a right to be happy, Noel. You have a right to chase whatever the fuck lights your soul on fire and own every goddamned inch of it. No matter what that looks like. Just…please stop apologizing for existing—for being human. You owe us nothing.”
“You don’t owe me anything, either.”
“Oh, baby. Don’t you get it? I owe youmy life, if that’s what you need to be safe, free, and happy. But I can’t deal with you beating yourself up for something you had no part in.” Words like a flame in my chest, he held my gaze for one second more before bringing his mouth to mine with a bruising intensity. Parting my lips, I invited him in, and Jameson deepened the kiss without hesitation, swapping breaths as we savored the taste of each other.
